The Council
adopted its conclusions on the follow-up to the Copenhagen Conference (7-19
December 2009). It evaluates the outcomes of the conference, and stresses the
opportunities for immediate implementation offered by the Copenhagen Accord
as well as confirms existing EU positions on a broad range of issues. The
Council also requests that the Commission present an assessment of the
comparability and adequacy of greenhouse gas emission reductions offered by
third countries as well as an impact assessment of the EU's conditional move
to a 30% emissions cut. It adopts the following conclusions on the Copengahen
Conference:
- the Council
recognises the importance of the positive outcomes of the Copenhagen
Conference which reflect a political understanding on the long-term
response to climate change, contain some provisions to implement rapid
action, embody international solidarity and constitute a step in the
continuing negotiations on a global legally-binding post-2012 agreement
under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC). It highlights the fact that the need to forge this agreement
to combat climate change is becoming more urgent. The Council regrets
that the outcomes of the Copenhagen Conference did not reflect the
EU's expectations and ambitions, and stresses that they raised
climate change to the highest level of government policy and mobilised
public opinion in an unprecedented manner;
- it welcomes
the decisions adopted in Copenhagen on the continuation of both AWG-KP
and AWG-LCA tracks with a view to both tracks delivering the results of
their work to the Cancún Climate Conference (29 November-10 December
2010). The Council underlines the need to integrate the political
guidance given in the Copenhagen Accord in the negotiating texts;
- it stresses
that it is crucial for the UNFCCC to deliver in time and expresses its
openness to consider positively all proposals keeping the increase in
global temperature below 2°C compared to the pre-industrial level so as
to ensure that the work in both tracks results in a comprehensive global
legal framework which preserves all the essential elements of the Kyoto
Protocol. The Council stresses that focused work should be conducted
in order to increase the ambition level in the run-up to Cancún and
to provide all Parties and stakeholders with clear signals on the
mitigation targets, actions and mechanisms as well as the common rules
for fulfilling and implementing them;
- it welcomes
the fact that Parties accounting for over 80% of global greenhouse
gas emissions have associated themselves with or expressed support
for the Copenhagen Accord. All Parties which have not yet done so are
encouraged to associate themselves with the Accord as soon as possible
and to provide information on the targets or actions that they will
implement. The Council stresses the importance of starting with the
immediate implementation of the Accord and the EU's determination to
play a leading role in this respect;
- it
emphasises its continued full support to the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC) in deepening our understanding of climate
change through its solid scientific assessments of climate change. It
takes note of the fact that a limited number of inaccuracies have been
reported, but is convinced that the IPCC offers the most authoritative
and comprehensive assessment process on the existing science of climate
change. The Council welcomes the initiatives to review the internal IPCC
procedures for its future work;
- it also
welcomes the recognition in the Copenhagen Accord of the scientific
view that the increase in global temperature should be kept below 2°C
compared to the pre-industrial level. The Council reiterates that,
according to the IPCC, to stay below 2ºC requires that global greenhouse
gas emissions peak by 2020 at the latest and are reduced by at least 50%
compared with 1990 by 2050 and continue to decline thereafter. Developed
countries as a group should reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 80%
to 95% by 2050 below 1990 levels, and in this context, the Council
reaffirms its support for an EU objective to reduce emissions by 80-95%
by 2050 compared to 1990 levels. It also reaffirms its October 2009
conclusions concerning emissions from international aviation and
maritime transport;
- the Council
calls on all Parties to begin to implement without delay their offers
for 2020 emission reduction targets and nationally appropriate
mitigation actions as communicated to the UNFCCC Secretariat and to
reinforce their level of ambition in order to keep the 2°C objective
within reach. It acknowledges that the current overall level of pledges
needs to be increased;
- in the
context of a global and comprehensive agreement, the Council underlines
the importance of an assessment of the implementation of the Copenhagen
Accord to be completed by 2015, including consideration of strengthening
the long-term goal referencing various matters presented by science, including
in relation to temperature rises of 1.5ºC;
- it reaffirmsthe EU's independent commitment to achieve a 20% reduction of
greenhouse as emissions by 2020 compared to 1990 as well as the EU's conditional
offer to move to a 30% reduction by 2020 compared to 1990, as part
of a global and comprehensive agreement for the period beyond 2012 and
provided that other developed countries commit themselves to comparable
emission reductions and that developing countries contribute adequately
according to their responsibilities and respective capabilities;
- the Council
considersthat there is a need for an assessment of
comparability of the quantified economy-wide emissions targets of
Annex I Parties for 2020, making use of a balanced combination of
criteria such as those contained in its March 2009 conclusions, and of
the adequacy of nationally appropriate mitigation actions by developing
country Parties announced in the context of the Copenhagen Accord. It
stresses that the analysis of comparability of commitments, actions and contributions
will be conducted also using the 2°C objective as yardstick. The Council
asks the Commission to work on this assessment, which should help to
prepare the EU for a decision whether to step up to a 30% emissions
reduction commitment;
- it invitesthe Commission to update by June 2010 the impact assessment
for the EU and the Member States in view of the EU's conditional move to
a 30% emissions reduction commitment; and takes note of the Commission's
ongoing work on an EU low-emission development strategy;
- the Council
recalls that the risk of carbon leakage is a concern in certain
sectors, such as energy-intensive industries particularly exposed to
international competition. This risk is addressed in the ETS Directive
so that, to preserve the environmental integrity of the EU's policies,
in light of the outcome of the international negotiations and the extent
to which these lead to global greenhouse gas emission reductions, it is
possible to consider appropriate measures to be taken in compliance with
international trade rules. The Council stresses that an ambitious
international agreement remains the best way of addressing this issue.
It is looking forward to the Commission submitting by 30 June 2010 an
analytical report, assessing the situation with regard to
energy-intensive sectors that have been determined to be exposed to
significant risks of carbon leakage, accompanied by any appropriate
proposals. The Council recognises the need similarly to assess the
impact on the Union's agriculture sector;
- it
recalls that developed countries have
committed themselves in the Copenhagen Accord to providing resources
approaching USD 30 billion in the period 2010-2012, with a balanced
allocation between adaptation and mitigation and with a special emphasis
on vulnerable and least developed countries. The Council reaffirms the
EU's and Member States' commitment to contribute EUR 2.4 billion
annually over the period 2010-2012. It also recalls developed countries'
commitment in the Copenhagen Accord to a goal of mobilising jointly USD
100 billion a year by 2020, coming from a wide variety of both public
and private sources, to assist developing countries in fighting climate
change;
- the Council
welcomesthe establishment by the United Nations Secretary
General of an Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing. The
potential of innovative sources of finance and of market-based
instruments, including carbon markets, should be taken into account. It
stresses the need to start a transparent process for establishing the
basis for the Copenhagen Green Climate Fund;
- the Council
recalls the crucial importance of carbon markets, including
cap-and-trade systems, for achieving global mitigation objectives in a
cost-efficient manner and stresses that cooperation on carbon market
readiness should be strengthened;
- it is
determinedto make rapid progress to develop guidelines, rules or
modalities for REDD-plus actions, and thus welcomes initiatives
to mobilise financing as part of fast-start funding under the Copenhagen
Accord and to facilitate decision-making on REDD-plus at the Cancún
Climate Conference, including agreeing targets to reduce gross tropical
deforestation by at least 50% by 2020 compared to current levels and to
halt global forest cover loss by 2030 at the latest, as well as the
necessary finance beyond the fast-start period in line with our overall
commitment in the Copenhagen Accord;
- the Council
emphasises theimportance of accelerating the development of
environmentally safe and sustainable low-carbon technologies and
welcomes the establishment of a Technology Mechanism designed to meet
developing countries' needs on adaptation and mitigation, drawing on the
technology action plans of the Major Economies Forum on Climate and
Energy and the fruitful experiences within the EU. It calls for the
allocation already in 2010 of resources as part of fast-start finance to
actions related to such technologies, including possible pilot actions
both on adaptation and mitigation.